Quick Mother’s Day Card Tutorial

One of the facts of life is this: the older you get, the more mothers you know. Slowly, Mother’s Day becomes a day that’s not only acknowledging your own mother: it’s also about your friend, your sister, your daughter, and many other women in your life. It’s wonderful that we all know so many fantastic moms, but it’s difficult to find the time to make a thoughtful DIY Mother’s Day card for all of them! That’s why this year I focused on making a quick card concept that can be customized and streamlined if you want to make more than one. You can read the steps below to learn how to create it!

This Mother’s Day card owes its speediness to a printable PDF file! You can find the file for free by clicking here. Once you download the file, print it off on high-quality paper. I used 80# drawing paper, but 32# laserjet would make a fine substitute.

2. Create the Base of the Card

Choose a piece of cardstock (60# or higher weight) in a color that appeals to you. Cut the cardstock to 10″ x 7″ (254 mm x 178 mm).

You can use the “Ideal Size of Card” guidelines on the Tulips Mother’s Day Card Components PDF as a template to cut out your cardstock.

Fold the cardstock in half, then cut out the “Template for Cutting Inside of Card” rectangle from the Tulips Mother’s Day Card Components PDF. Center the template about 1/2″ (13 mm) under the top edge of the card, and trace around it.

If you’re using dark-colored cardstock, try using a white pencil to trace around the template. (A regular graphite pencil works, too, but it can be difficult to see.)

Now, cut the card along the template guidelines.

This step can be done with scissors, but is much simpler if you have an X-Acto knife handy!

3. Color in the Tulips (Optional)

Cut out the “Card Insert” portion of the Tulips Mother’s Day Card Components PDF, which is the tulips illustration. Then, use whichever medium you are most comfortable with to give the flowers some color.

I used a marker to fill these tulips in, but watercolors, crayons, or colored pencils would work just as well!

While a little color can contribute a “pop” to this quick Mother’s Day card, you can always forego adding it. The drawing looks quite elegant when left black and white!

Feel free to skip adding color to this tulips illustration if you’re pressed for time, or you just appreciate the simple pen and ink drawing look.

4. Assemble the Card

Use washi tape or glue to secure the tulips illustration to the inside of the card. Make sure the illustration faces out such that it’s the feature of the outside of the card!

If you want to give the card a nice, hefty feel, you can glue the cardstock cutout that you made in step two onto the back of the illustration. Restoring the cutout to its original position helps to give the card a more polished look on the inside.

This step is completely optional, so if you’re short on time, you can skip it.

5. Add Lettering

Use a pencil to make a quick “Happy Mother’s Day” draft under the tulips illustration. Creating a pencil draft ensures that you won’t make any lettering mistakes!

Once you’re happy with how the draft looks, go over it with the ink of your choice! When the ink dries, you can erase your guidelines.

I like this Mother’s Day card because it has a simple, serene look to it.

6. Send!

If you want to, you can polish this Mother’s Day card off with a bit of jute twine or a nice ribbon. It’s not a necessity, but adds a touch of polish to the project!

I hope that you enjoyed this quick tutorial! If you have a bit of time this weekend, you can set aside an hour or so to make several for all of the mothers in your life. Feel free to customize — experiment with cardstock colors (kraft cardstock would be awesome), colors for the tulips, and lettering styles! If this Mother’s Day card isn’t quite what you’re looking for, you can always try making 2017’s Elegant DIY Mother’s Day Card Tutorial or 2016’s Simple Mother’s Day Card Tutorial. Both of those cards are also fun, artistic, and come together fairly quickly!

If you like your personal result of this tutorial, I’d *love* to see it on Instagram; you can tag @thepostmansknock or hashtag #thepostmansknock. It’s always so neat for me to see the projects that tutorials like this one bring to life! Thanks very much for reading TPK, and have a wonderful weekend!